Best, Worst Scenarios for English Clubs in Champions League Group Draw
Chelsea, Tottenham, Manchester City, Liverpool and Manchester United will learn their Champions League fate when the draw for the group stage takes place on Thursday evening.
Spread between pots 1 and 3, the five English clubs could easily face some of Europe's very best teams at this early stage, yet there is a possibility the draw could be also kind to them.
Here's a run through of the possible best and worst case scenarios they could end up with...
(Despite being weak on paper, Celtic have often raised their game against English clubs in the Champions League in the past and will be one opponent all five will wish to avoid)
Chelsea
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Best:Porto, Anderlecht, Maribor
Chelsea have faced both Porto and Maribor in the Champions League with success in the past and so coming up against either again is unlikely to cause concern.
Worst:Paris Saint-Germain, Napoli, Qarabag
The thin squad cannot really afford to be stretched much further, and so adding a long return trip to Azerbaijan into the mix for an away game against Qarabag would be one to avoid.
Tottenham Hotspur
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Best:Benfica, Sevilla, CSKA Moscow
Tottenham could potentially be matched with CSKA Moscow again, a team they know first-hand to be beatable after winning home and away against the Russians at this stage last season.
Worst:Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Feyenoord
Spurs could find themselves in a group with the reigning champions and the club that just broke the world transfer record to sign Neymar if things really go against them in the draw.
Manchester City
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Best:Benfica, Anderlecht, Maribor
If Portuguese champions Benfica are the toughest team Manchester City will face, Pep Guardiola's team should have every confidence of progressing without much issue.
Worst:Bayern Munich, Roma, Feyenoord
City fans are surely sick to the back teeth of being drawn with Bayern Munich in the group stage and, their obvious quality aside, will be keen on seeing someone new come out of the bag.
Liverpool
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Best:Spartak Moscow, Porto, Maribor
A trip to Moscow isn't ideal, but the Russian champions are the weakest on paper in pot one and it would allow Liverpool to avoid Sevilla from pot 2, victors in the 2016 Europa League final.
Worst:Juventus, Barcelona, RB Leipzig
Barcelona may be weakened, but former Reds star Luis Suarez could easily do serious damage to his old team. There is also the potential embarrassment of being beaten by RB Leipzig.
Manchester United
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Best:Monaco, Anderlecht, Maribor
Manchester United have struggled when faced with Benfica in the past, so maybe being in the same group as a Monaco team weakened by a summer of departures might be a better option.
Worst:Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, CSKA Moscow
Mourinho's team have already been beaten by Real Madrid once this season in the UEFA Super Cup and surely won't fancy a trip to Moscow after all of last season's Europa League travelling.
